Sleeping at the Dump

Josh had the opportunity to spend a night at Steung Meanchey with Liza (the little girl we sponsor) and her family. He would tell you it was his favorite night there. He got there around 6:40 in the evening. His plan was to eat dinner with the family, but fortunately he had the slowest tuk tuk ride in the world, so he missed dinner. He was really bummed out about that…

Liza took Josh into their home (12’ x 12’ room divided by a sheet of plywood) and showed him where he would be sleeping that night. It was the front half of the room- Josh had the whole floor to himself. Josh sat down and Liza immediately jumped on him. For the next two hours, Josh played with Liza and all her friends. They were squealing and giggling the whole time, Josh squealing the loudest. After all the playing, jumping around, and laughter was over, Josh laid back, put his head on his bag, and put his arm around Liza. She fell asleep on his arm.

Josh could not have been happier. Liza slept for about an hour until Ly (her mother) decided it was time for her to go to bed. Ly gently picked her up and once Liza figured out what was going on, she began screaming something in Khmer. Chan told Josh she was begging her mother to let her stay with Josh the whole time. She went to bed and Josh laid his head back on his pack, sleeping soundly on the floor until 5:45 in the morning.

The next morning Josh woke up to the sounds of pots clanging and mothers giving commands to the kids to get dressed. By the time he had gotten up (about 5:50), Josh had missed breakfast. Apparently, some of the older ladies wake up and prepare breakfast for the kids and as soon as the kids come downstairs, the food is shoveled into their mouths and they are dressed for school. At approximately 6:10, Josh loaded Liza into the tuk tuk and drove her off to school. He was hungry, dirty, and slept on the floor, but he wouldn’t trade that night for anything. He loved it.